HAWKS END FIRST HALF WITH PERFECT 9-0 RECORD
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Redeemer | 14 | 16 | 15 | 18 | 63 |
|
Humber | 23 | 27 | 21 | 15 | 86 |
By: Natalie Stoberman
The Humber College women's basketball team closed out their first half of the season with a lopsided 86-63 win over the Redeemer Royals to go 9-0 into the New Year. C.J Nofuente led the squad with 23 points and shot 33 per cent from downtown, while dishing eight assists and four steals in 28 minutes on the floor.
Shooting guard Natalie Hagopian opened the game with a huge 3-point splash from the top of the arc to get the game started for the Hawks. Humber's ball movement was on display early, dishing out five assists by the time they took a 16-7 lead. The Hawks continued to keep the Royals off the board for many minutes at a time and by the buzzer had taken over 23-14.
The Hawks continued to make it rain from beyond the arc and added three more long balls to their scoring artillery. The Hawks played calm defence and scored 15 points off of 15 Redeemer turnovers thanks to a combined seven steals from Nofuente and forward Mary Asare. Centre Atissa Cronk poured in six points while protecting the paint by grabbing a pair of rebounds that helped Humber keep a balanced attack on the way to a 50-30 lead at the buzzer.
The Royals stepped up their defence enough to keep the Hawks to 21 points in the frame. But as usual the Hawks found a way through Nofuente and Cronk who relentlessly shot a combined 12 of 19 from the field, with Cronk making all six of her shots. The Royals couldn't shut down Humber's offence or cause any turnovers to slow down Humber's 71-45 lead at the end of the frame.
Though Redeemer gave Humber a good finish by outscoring the Hawks 18-15 in the fourth, Humber took home the 86-63 victory. "Hawks Nation" Player of the Game Chioma Oriuwa, recorded six points but had a big night on the glass leading the team with 13 boards, ten of them on offense. Now that the first half of the season is over, Oriuwa said she has her sights set on an even better second half.
"It was a great end to the first half now we have to keep that momentum going and push for the second half and do even better than the beginning," Oriuwa stated.
The Hawks start 2016 with a rematch of the OCAA finals at home against the Mohawk Mountaineers on Jan. 13 at 6 p.m.
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